Complicated

Chapter Thirty One: Consquences

Let it go,
Let it roll right off your shoulder
Don't you know
The hardest part is over
Let it in,
Let your clarity define you
In the end
We will only just remember how it feels

Rob Thomas – Little Wonders

The case had gone from bad to worse in Grace's eyes. Using a shoe print that Sheldon had discovered in Christine's en suite bathroom and the sketch that Don had secured from the eye witness they had been able to link Antonio Reyes to the murder of Christine Reynolds. The evidence was enough to secure that he be denied bail, preventing the possibility of someone else's child falling prey to such a callous and vindictive predator.

The only problem was regarding a lighter that Danny had found underneath Christine's bed. They had matched the fingerprint on it to Rob Meyers, a man seemingly unconnected with the case. It was only when Adam had run a Trace report upon the lighter due to a contaminated DNA sample that the true weight of the situation had dawned upon them. The underside of the lighter had been soaked in the chemical that Sheldon had been had used to try and get a shoe impression off of the carpet.

The lighter had been planted by D. A Craig Hansen in order to discover the identity of the man, his wife was having an affair with. He had used the crime lab as an instrument for his own personal gain and because of that Christine Reynolds and her family were paying the price.

Stella had had to march into that courtroom during Reyes' arraignment in and declare that all their physical evidence regarding Antonio Reyes was unusable because of a selfish and crooked prosecutor.

Watching Stella's interview with Craig Hansen from the observation room was harrowing. As usual Stella was on top form snapping back at all of Hansen's rebuttals with responses of her own but at the end of the day they were getting nowhere. Hansen had an answer for everything she was throwing at him. The guy had worked in the justice system over the past fifteen years and picked up a few tricks along the way.

It was infuriating to be in this position, to have everything resting in your hands only to be snatched away in an instant. She sincerely hoped that Craig Hansen got everything he deserved for what he had done and more.

Grace slammed her palm over the button of the speaker to drown out the sound of Hansen's despicable denial as Stella questioned him. She couldn't listen to another minute of his incessant threats. It made her physically ill to think of him abusing the justice system like that, to implicate the crime lab in his own warped way. Jesus, she was resisting the urge to hit something right now, the frustration was boiling up inside her as she pressed her palm against the wall and took a deep steady breath to reign in her temper.

"I just got word they assigned a new DA to the Christine Reynolds case." Don informed her as he entered the observation room.

His keen blue eyes were studying his fiancée with trepidation as she raked her hand through choppy dark hair. Her jaw was clenched as she tilted her head away from him, struggled to get a grasp on her composure. Don understood the rage that was blazing in her eyes. What he wouldn't give to tear the head right off Hansen's smug shoulders but he was the logical one out of the two of them. He was more restrained than Grace could ever be hence why he was the Detective and she was the scientist.

It was hard to play well with others when they taunted you and he knew all the times she 'd been sitting on the opposite side to the interrogation table playing good cop it had never sat right with her in the hours after.

"All of the physical evidence we have on that animal Antonio Reyes is admissible." Grace fumed, pushing herself away from the wall, clasping a hand to her forehead.

"Mac's on the phone to the DA as we speak. Unless we get more forensics on Antonio, this entire case rests on the testimony of one eyewitness." Don laid out the facts as he saw them.